Paring apparatus.



W. H. BOUTELL.

PARING APPARATUS.

APPLIOATIUN FILED 111111.20, 1910. BHNEWBD 11111.27. 1911.

Patented Mar. 21, 1911.`

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAIVI- H. BOUTELIJ, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO BOUTELL MANUFAC- TURING COIVIPANY, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

PARING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led April 20, 1910, Serial No. 556,475.

Patented Mar. 21, 1911.

Renewed January 27, 1911. Serial No. 605,075.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM I-I. BOUTELL, of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Paring Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specification, and to the referencenumerals marked thereon.

My present invention relates to cutting and paring and it has for its object to provide a paring knife of cheap and simple construction, but having features of improvements by means of which it can be readily cleaned without disorganization.

My invention has for its further object to provide means in combination with the knife of a paring machine whereby this can be accomplished automatically, preferably after each paring operation, along with the other operations and with the regular movement of the parts of the machine.

To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvements and combinations of parts all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation cf a paringmachine, in-

cluding the knife, constructed in accordance with and illustrating one embodiment of my invention, the knife and the other parts being in the positions assumed just prior to the paring operation; Fig. 2 is a detail vertical section taken in a plane extending through the paring knife and showing the operation of the trip device which automatically cleans the knife at the conclusion of the paring operation; Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the machine taken subst-antially on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1, showing the parts in the same position as Fig. 2, and Fig. i is a substantially horizontal section through the knife on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3, showing a top plan view of the work supporting reel upon which the trip devices are, in the present instance, mounted.

As to the general features of the paring machine in connection with which I have chosen to illustrate this invention, its design follows substantially the disclosure of my prior Patent, No. 892,398, for an apple paring machine, granted July 7, 1908, to which reference is made for a. more exact description of a machine of a type susceptiblc to the improvements and additions of this invention and illustrating a particular instance of its utility.

Referring more specifically to -the accompanying drawings, 1 indicates the main frame of the machine upon which is mounted a rotary reel 2 provided with a plurality of intermittently driven work receiving forks 3, one of which is presenting the work in position for paring, while the other is receiving the subsequent work piece. The knife carriage l reciprocates horizontally above these devices on a guide rod 5 and has journaled therein a vertical spindle G provided with dogs 7 at its upper end that are formed with alined conical lugs 8 that constitute a rocking bearing for the knife arm 9 in which the sha-nk l0 of the knife, indicated generally by 11 in Fig. l, is secured. The knife is thus suspended just a little out of alinement with the forks 3 (F ig. 3) when in operative position and during the paring operation the knife swings toward the fork with a revolving motion imparted to it by a cam mechanism 12 on the frame that engages an eccentric projection 13 on the sha-ft 6 of the knife carriage. The knife travels through an arc of about 180D in rounding the rotating fruit or other work piece and then travels additionally toward the base of the fork with a rectilinear movement with the cutting edge toward the rear. Meanwhile the corer 14 swingsin toward the fruit and then removes it from the fork. The knife traverses the same course in returning to its initial position and when free from the reel the latter rotates to bring the next work piece into position. The knife is held against the fruit under the yielding tension of a spring 15 connected to the frame at 1 6 and to the knife arm 9, but its inward movement is limited by engagement of the shank 1Q with an abutment 17 on the knife carriage, which engagement occurs, for instance, after the knife has left the fruit at the com letion of the paring operation.

I pre er to construct the knife proper as ica shown in Fig. 2 to comprise a substantially being given a proper cutting inclination, while on the opposite or upper rail 22 is detachably secured a movable guard plate 23, as by the screw 2li. The plate is rendered movable in the present instance by being made of resilient material, such as spring steel and its free end or edge is spaced from the blade 19 to form a throat through which the paring passes. The normal position of the guard plate is slightly in the rear of the cutting edge 25 of the blade, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, so that it acts as a gage to control the depth of the cut, the rotati'ng fruit or work piece being maintained in contact therewith.

I have found thatin the operation of paring machines, particularly when used for paring apples, the throat of the knife is apt to clog with stems or apple skins, the latter often getting folded over the cutting edge of the blade and rendering it inoperative until cleared, which latter has necessitate-d a stoppage of the machine. This clogging is noticeable after the machine has been idle for a while and the juice and parings have dried in the knife. In the practice of the present invention opportunity for suoli clogging is removed by actuating the movable guard 28 forwardly at intervals relatively to and away from the blade 19 to widen the throat of the knife and allow any matter clogged therein to drop out, the plate at the same time passing transversely of the cutting edge of the blade in the capacity of a scraper that removes any matter clinging thereto. I effect such movement automatically at the conclusion of each paring operation of a machine by mounting a trip 26 in a position in which it will engage the resili ent guard 23 from the rear during the short rectilinear movement of the knife, before described, after it has completed the paring of the apple and, in the present instance, while the corer is performing its function, the knife being reinforced againstnthe contact thereof by the abutment 17. As the knife is movable in the present instance the trip device is preferably arranged in a relatively stationary position in the path of the knife, and in the present instance it is in the form of a plate or projection fastened on the reel 2, one being provided at or near the base of each fork 3, (Fig. 4). The abutting end of the plate that forms the trip is preferably tapered, as shown, to readily enter the head frame 18 of the knife vand projects from the reel so that its point may be adjusted by bending to engage the guard plate 23 at a suitable point after the' machine is assembled. v

The extreme simplicity of the parts described is extremely valuable in a machine of this character inasmuch as the fruit acid or juice is constantly attacking the parts and thereby makes it practicable to utilize in the construction thereof only rough or unmachined castings so far as possible. Uniform adjustment is therefore not )resent in different machines after assern ling, at least in a degree ordinarily present in organized movement is preferably derived from fleXibility, rather than from a pivotal lconnection with its support, is that bearings, arranged at this point, would be constantly drenched with juice of the fruit and their period of utility would be limited.

It will be noted that these improvements can be readily added at a small cost to paring machines now in general use, such as the one shown and described in my prior patent before referred to, the substitution of the new knife head and the addition of the trip devices being all that is required.

I claim as my invention:

l. In a paring machine, the combination with a paring knife comprising a blade and a guard arranged with reference thereto to form `a throat through which the paring passes, one of said members being movable relatively to the other, of a trip cooperating with the movable part at the completion of the paring operation to actuate it away from the other and widen the throat of the knife.

2. In a paring machine, the combination with a paring knife comprising a blade and a movable guard normally held in operative position with reference thereto to form a throat through which the paring passes, of a trip cooperating with the guard at the completion of the paring operation to actuate it away from the blade and clear the throat of obstructions.

3. In a paring machine, the combination with a bodily movable paring knife con1- prising a blade and a guard movable relatively thereto but normally held in operative position with reference to the blade to form a throat through which the paring passes, of a relatively stationary trip engaged by the guard at the completion of the paring operation to cause the lat-ter to move away from the blade and widen the throat to clear it of obstructions.

4. In a paring machine, the combination with a movable paring knife comprising a blade and a guard arranged with reference thereto to form a throat through which the paring passes, one of said members being movable relatively to the other, and a work into the path of the knife, of a trip mounted in fixed relation to the fork and coperating with the movable part of the knife at the completion of the paring operation to actuate it away from the other and widen the throat to clear it of obstructions.

5. In a paring machine, the combination with a movable paring knife comprising a blade anda guard arranged with reference thereto to form a throat through which the paring passes, one of said members being movable relatively to the other, and a rotary reel having a plurality of work receiving forks thereon to move the work pieces into the path of the knife, of a plurality of tripping projections carried on the reel, one in fixed relation to each fork, each adapted to coperate With the movable part of the knife at the completion of the paring operation to actuate it away from the other and Widen the throat to clear it of obstructions.

6. In a paring machine7 the combination with a bodily movable paring knife comprising a blade and a guard or gage arranged adjacent thereto, one of said parts being movable to cause a relative movement of the guard and the cutting edge of the vblade past each other, of a relatively stationary trip adapted to be engaged by said. movable member after the paring operation to aotuate the same and clear the cutting edge of obstructions.

7. In a paring machine, the combination with a paring knife comprising a blade and a coperating member, one of said parts being movablev across the other to clear the blade of obstructions, of a trip coperating with the movable part to actuate it after the paring operation.

8. In a paring machine, the combination with a paring knife comprising a blade and a guard having-a normal operative position in rear of the cutting edge of the blade, said guard being movable forwardly past the cutting edge to clear the latter of obstructions, L

of a trip coperating with the guard to actuate it at the completion of the paring operation.

9. In a paring machine, the combination with a paring knife comprising a blade and a movable guard having a normal operative position in rear of the cutting edge of the blade, of means for imparting a revolving movement to the knife during the paring operation, means for imparting a subsequent rectilinear movement thereto with the cutting edge toward the rear and a relatively stationary trip coperating with the rear of the guard during said latter movement to actuate it past the cutting edge of the blade to clear the latter of obstructions.

WILLIAM H. BOUTELL.

Witnesses:

HARRY Oris POOLE, JOHN W. OLIVER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. C. 

